Undoubtedly, the Internet has revolutionized personal and business communication by providing a global medium with powerful services such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The Internet is a conglomeration of numerous heterogeneous networks, which are linked through internetworking devices, without restriction on the systems that can be a part of this global network. Because of the unrestricted nature, network security issues have garnered significant attention, particularly by service providers that need to ensure timely and secure communications for their customers. For example, in offering telecommunication services, service providers are continually faced with the challenge of balancing efficiency and cost versus security concerns. One important area involves the maintenance of customer premise equipment (CPE) devices configured to support services such as Internet access and VoIP. Conventionally, the retrieval of status information and alerts about a particular CPE device over the Internet can compromise the receiving system as well as the confidentiality of the information. Furthermore, the service providers need to be mindful of the protocols involved in such a service, as non-conformance to standards can result in a failed service.
Therefore, there is a need for securely obtaining information from CPE devices, while ensuring operations with current and developing standards.